Courtney Carroll has been there before. She’s anxious to get there again.

Bishop Stang’s senior center fielder is one victory away from returning to the Division 2 South Sectional softball final.

Only Case stands in the way,

Carroll’s Spartans, the defending Division 2 champs, face the Cardinals, the Division 3 champions a year ago, in the South semis Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Taunton High School, with the winner gaining a berth in Monday night’s final.

She’s ready to go.

“I want to defend our title,” said Carroll during Thursday’s practice. “I think we have the ability to do that.”

Carroll is one of four Spartan starters returning from last year’s team, which fell to Burlington 4-3 in the state semifinals.

At the beginning of the season, Carroll, a tri-captain, wasn’t so sure her team would be making the return trip to the South semis with the loss of five starters.

“Earlier this season, I didn’t think we’d be here,” she said. “I was a little worried at the beginning. This team just gets along so well. We are always picking each other up.”

Carroll also had some doubts at the end of the season when the Spartans dropped their last three games of the regular season.

“We lost to Apponequet twice and Old Rochester,” Carroll said. “We started the season hitting about .400 as a team and then we had the break (school vacation). We hit a rough patch there and then we lost those last three before the tournament. I was nervous about that, but we’ve really picked it up.”

Carroll came up as a pitcher during her freshman season with the Spartans, alternating starts with current ace Hannah Carvalho.

A shoulder injury forced her to switch positions and she has since seen time at second base and right field.

On last year’s squad, she was primarily a right fielder, but this year she has taken over for the graduated Taylor Shaker, a speedy all-star, in center field.

“She has stepped right in and we haven’t missed a beat,” said Bishop Stang coach Dan Sylvia. “She doesn’t have the speed or the range Shaker did, but she has better arm strength. I wouldn’t run on her.”

“Against Spellman, she came up with a clutch it that proved to be the game-winning RBI,” Sylvia said. “She’s very steady offensively, always putting the ball in play. She’s very unselfish. If we need a sacrifice, she’ll do it.

Page 2 of 2 - “She hits in the seventh spot, but that’s very deceptive. She adds depth to our lineup. She could easily be our number two hitter, but I wanted to make the offense a little stronger on the back side.”

A two-year captain, Carroll’s efforts on the field haven’t gone unnoticed as she was named an Eastern Athletic Conference all-star for the first time this season.

“She’s very assertive,” Sylvia said. “She really took on the leadership role this year. She and Hannah have put this team on their backs.”

Email Mike Thomas at mthomas@heraldnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NostraThomasHN